AQUACULTURE LESSON PLAN

Objective: To explain Aquaculture and explore the economic, environmental, and social
controversies that surround fish farming, particularly salmon farming
Learning outcomes:
4.2 The Blue Potential
Primary Themes: region, location, pattern
a) As a life source
b) As a climate factor
c) As a food source
4.2 The Harvester: Humanitys quest for nourishment
Objective:
To examine the nurture and distribution of humanitys effort to harvest the land and sea in order
to feed itself.
It is critical that students appreciate the role of culture in humanitys search for food. There are
many influences - religion, history, gender roles, land/human interaction, etc. that combine to
create cultural perspectives that govern the quest for nourishment.
a) Land/ocean within cultural settings
Materials:
Newspaper/magazine articles about aquaculture (35 copies of six different articles)
Worksheet for note taking (35 copies)
Article questionnaire (35 copies)
Articles:
Canada needs to lead in Agriculture
Salmon Farming: A grave concern, a great hope
Ottawas new aquaculture rules would permit harmful dumping
Aquaculture guidelines need overhaul: panel - http://www.aquaculture.ca/files/
Canadaneedstoleadinaquaculture.php
N.S govt decision to reject fish farm kills jobs, company says

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

Begin with a short discussion about fish - who eats fish, why do we eat it (health, taste), where
does it come from (the ocean or farms). Explain that 1/3 of the fish we eat comes from
aquaculture. Ask students if they have any preconceived ideas about aquaculture.

Part 2: Show prezi and Ted Talk (prezi 10-15 minutes, ted talk 10 minutes)
Hand out the aquaculture note taking forms and ask students to fill in the blanks as they watch
the presentation.

2. Aquaculture in the news (30 minutes)

Hand out news articles - half of the articles will address the advantages of aquaculture, the
other half will address the disadvantages of aquaculture. Ask students to work independently
and read their article, highlighting anything they think is important (encourage them to look for
pros or cons) and ask them to write a very brief (one to two sentence) description of what they
think the articles main argument was. Encourage students to look for words like
ENVIRONMENT, INVESTMENT, ECONOMY, COMMUNITY, HEALTH, and SUSTAINABILITY
for help. (15 minutes)

3. Group Work (15 minutes)

Create four - six groups. The groups should be mixed with students who have read articles
supporting aquaculture and some who have read articles that are against aquaculture. Students
should discuss what they have read with each other, and talk about whether they agreed or
disagreed with their article. Students must then fill out part two of their questionnaire (partners
information)
4. Conclusion (until the end of class)
Ask if any students would like to share their questionnaire. If the conversation does not pick up,
have students talk about the different advantages/disadvantages about aquaculture that they
learned in class. Write a table on the white board and ask students to copy down the table for
their notes.
Aquaculture: Pros and Cons (for reference)
Arguments in favor of aquaculture:
Can create jobs in community
Can increase revenue on city, state and national level
Can reduce seafood trade deficit
Can help feed a growing U.S. and world population
Can encourage local investment
Can increase scientific knowledge and technology
Can place more emphasis on protecting coastal waters from pollution, especially in the case
of mollusk and seaweed culture.

 May reduce fishing pressure on certain wild stocks if that species can be produced through
aquaculture rather than fished.
Arguments against aquaculture:

Can conflict with other users of water bodies such as lobstermen, fishermen or migrating fish
Can put excess pressure on wild stocks that are used to create high protein feed pellets
Can amplify and transfer disease and parasites to wild fish populations
Can pollute water systems with excess nutrients (fish feed & wastes), chemicals and
antibiotics
Can compromise native gene pools if farmed fish and native species interbreed
Can threaten livelihood of fishermen
Can be an unpredictable enterprise for small local communities due to its
susceptibility to severe weather, predators, disease, and global competition
Can compromise the aesthetic beauty of coastline